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Example problem and solution

Het Columbus project is een internationaal project en daarom wordt alles binnen dit project alleen in het Engels aangeboden. 

With the Ukraine conflict going on we have made available for everyone the example of a very complex problem and the elaborated solution  intended for the students of this Columbus project. The example problem is very similar to the current Ukraine conflict and the crisis in the world. That makes the solution based on Next Level Learning in fact a solution to the Ukraine conflict and the current crisis too.

If you would like to read more about the why and how of Next Level Learning and the Columbus project, you can read a concise introduction on the development page of the Academy for Next Level Learning www.a4nll.com/prop-ws about the blueprint for a new university.

The complex problem presented here as an example to use in practice dates from three thousand years back. Below you will find a summary of the findings by scientists about the downfall of Troy. Beside this technical historiography established by the researchers there is the old story about the Trojan horse which would have led to the fall. And you will find a perspective on a possible fit for this story into the technical historiography. Do you see a solution preventing the downfall of Troy?

 

In the same way as the problem of Troy the problems in the Columbus project have to be described. You will technically describe the problem with the facts you have found by researching the problem or you have taken over from other researchers. In addition, you can describe the story or opinions related to the problem if they are relevant, for example, if they are causing the problem. Try to summarize the problem in one sentence and give the problem a title using a few words from this one sentence.

 

The elaboration of the solution to the problem, preventing the downfall of Troy, is found below using the four questions on the page ‘how’ of the website. The elaboration serves as an example and indicates some different paths you can take.

The problem: The downfall of Troy

Findings by scientists

 

Scientist have been looking for causes for the downfall of Troy for over a hundred years. What they have found so far are primary drivers for the events in Troy such as drought (climate change), earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There were secondary drivers, the most important being famine, economic stagnation, poverty and refugee flows. This applies to the greater area around the Mediterranean from Egypt to Greece, which was the prosperous world of the Bronze Age at the time. Who was involved in the fighting that led to the downfall of Troy remains a mystery because there are indications that many peoples were involved in it. People came from across the sea, from the North and from Greece. There are also indications of conflicts between city people and rural people, between rich and poor, between different beliefs, different origins and between permanent residents and refugees. Many deaths resulted in various cities, including Troy, where there were few survivors.

 

Taking the primary drivers into account there were still sufficient fertile lands and resources to grow food for everyone. In theory, if people would not have fought each other but instead had deployed all resources together for the benefit of everyone, everyone could have lived well.

 

Looking closer the secondary drivers appear to be a result of the fighting. The bronze age economy was brought to a halt because sea transports were attacked by "refugees". Local economies also stalled due to robberies and looting. Friendly nations and peoples could no longer help each other because they were no longer in contact and could no longer come to each other’s aid. Transport of food was not possible due to the robberies, nor was the use of fertile land for all peoples.

 

 

How the story of the Trojan horse fits in

 

The horse as an symbol may have been inspired by the Celts who were in Troy at the time of the downfall. The Celts were very skilled at working with horses and the horse was the ultimate symbol of their culture which can be seen in the many representations of horses in sculptures, statues and paintings that they also brought to Troy. The name "Celts" comes from ancient Greek as spoken in the vicinity of Troy. "Keltoi" is the ancient Greek word for barbarian. The Celts never called themselves by this name. So it seems that the Celts were second-class citizens. The Celts came not only to Troy for trading purposes but most likely also to work there for little money. There is also evidence that Celts have been enslaved. The horse in the story of the fall of Troy could thus symbolize that the downfall of Troy was caused by fighting with the Celts who were also present inside the city of Troy.

Do you see a solution preventing the downfall of Troy?

The elaborated solution

Before you have a look at the elaborated solution do the exercises with the tool to achieve Next Level Learning. See www.nextlevellearningtool.com

 

The elaboration of the solution to the problem, preventing the downfall of Troy, is found below using the four questions on the page "how" of the academy website. The elaboration serves as an example and indicates some different paths you can take.

1) What is the actual cause?

 

As an outsider, what actual cause of the complex problem do you see?

 

See also insight 3 on the why page:

 

If the real cause of a dynamic problem hasn’t been identified the problem cannot be solved, but at best kept under control for a certain period, usually by adding new control parameters. By looking at time from the perspective of the whole we can see the dynamics and the real causes of the exponential amplifying factors of the problem. By neutralizing these causes in the system the complex problem will be solved definitively, not only in the now but also for the future. Looking at the complex problem from the perspective of the total time span is like looking back from the perspective of the future. 

 

The problem of Troy is typically a dynamic problem and has all the characteristics of the dynamics of a feedback looped system that reinforces itself. We see this self-reinforcing "loop" in all humans when they are in a state of tension. The content of the consciousness is constantly being reinterpreted, thereby reaffirming itself, and becoming more and more self-reinforcing, thus increasing the tension. This is schematically represented in the tool in animation 2 to question 3 as the vicious circle and the consequences described there. In our tension delusion we keep thinking to solve something that only exists in our delusion. Who is interested to dive into the physics behind this phenomenon may wish to consult the book "Consciousness Upgrade for Transition in the 21st Century.". If people are grouped together and all are looking from their own perspective and not as an outsider the reinforcing loop effect only gets stronger and the tension and conflicts increase even more. Only with Next Level Learning can this be seen and stopped and that means that all people in the group have to see this with the aid of Next Level Learning.

 

Without Next Level Learning the only way to get the ‘problem’ stable is for people to adjust the control parameters. In doing so they are essentially not addressing the actual cause within them. In contrary they will act to the outside world and thus increase their conflict with actual reality, or in other words, their conflict with others, themselves or the circumstances. In essence, you could say that almost every complex problem is caused by the state of tension or the tension delusion in ourselves which cannot be seen without Next Level Learning. As a complex problem is defined here as being dynamic and dependent on the perspective the problem is looked at. Therefore, a complex problem automatically becomes only a problem or a difficult project when we look at it from the perspective of an outsider with Next Level Learning.

 

In the case of the problem of Troy there are different ways to see the actual cause:

 

a) The downfall of Troy was a direct effect of the fighting as was revealed by researchers in the examination of the problem:

 

Who was involved in the fighting that led to the downfall of Troy remains a mystery because there are indications that many peoples were involved in it. People came from across the sea, from the North and from Greece. There are also indications of conflicts between city people and rural people, between rich and poor, between different beliefs, different origins and between permanent residents and refugees. Many deaths resulted in various cities, including Troy, where there were few survivors.

 

The conflicts and fighting are a direct result of the tension delusion as animation 2 to question 3 shows. In fact you can easily see that the real cause of any conflict is the tension delusion. In the delusions we mistake the tension interpretations in ourselves for actual reality. In short, the tension state is the real cause that is impossible to resolve without Next Level Learning. An actual solution requires everyone involved to look at the problem using the observation mode, or in general terms, to look at it as an outsider.

 

 

b) Another way to look at the problem is whether there really is a problem if all people were to cooperate with each other. As the research of the problem of the downfall of Troy shows:

 

Taking the primary drivers into account there were still sufficient fertile lands and resources to grow food for everyone. In theory, if people would not have fought each other but instead had deployed all resources together for the benefit of everyone, everyone could have lived well.

 

So in this way it is also very quickly clear that the actual problem was that people continued to fight each other and stay in conflict due to their tension delusion. This applies in general, of course, to all climate related complex problems. If you sum up what would be left of these type complex problems if everyone would collaborate with each other then there is no actual cause left for anyone on earth not having a comfortable life.

 

 

c) You can also look at the problem and separate the technical and human (psychological) causes of the problem. Suppose everyone were to do exactly what an outsider tells them to do. An outsider wants of course all people to have a good life. Is there still a problem then? What remains will be a technical problem. There will no longer be a complex problem. The secondary drivers will immediately fall away:

 

Looking closer the secondary drivers appear to be a result of the fighting. The bronze age economy was brought to a halt because sea transports were attacked by "refugees". Local economies also stalled due to robberies and looting. Friendly nations and peoples could no longer help each other because they were no longer in contact and could no longer come to each other’s aid. Transport of food was not possible due to the robberies, nor was the use of fertile land for all peoples.

 

And instead of the conflicts and fights people will start to collaborate with each other to solve the technical problems. There will be a lot of people and resources available that were previously applied for fighting each other.

 

2) What can administrators do?

 

​What do you see that administrators can do to move toward a solution?

We assume as an starting point of the solution that an administrator like the king of Troy has achieved Next Level Learning. What could he have done to prevent the downfall of Troy. This makes the solution visible and imaginable for everyone who looks at the problem now. The administrator, in this case the king of Troy, has achieved Next Level Learning and is therefore fully aware of the actual cause of the problem as described in answer to question 1 above.

 

In any case, the administrator will not continue what he did before he had achieved Next Level Learning, because what the administrator did to solve the problem essentially backfired and made the conflicts and fights increase as described above at point 1:

 

Without Next Level Learning the only way to get the ‘problem’ stable is for people to adjust the control parameters. In doing so they are essentially not addressing the actual cause within them. In contrary they will act to the outside world and thus increase their conflict with actual reality, or in other words, their conflict with others, themselves or the circumstances. In essence, you could say that almost every complex problem is caused by the state of tension or the tension delusion in ourselves which cannot be seen without Next Level Learning.

 

So the administrator will focus on solving the actual cause and that comes down to get enough people in crucial places of this problem achieving Next Level Learning by which they can also see the actual cause and solution. All the people who start looking at the problem as an outsider with Next Level Learning will not only see what the actual cause is but also that it is ultimately necessary for everyone to see the actual cause and look at it as an outsider with Next Level Learning. In this way people will not only have the same view of the actual cause but also of the actual solutions. How that will work out we will discuss at the next point 3. Here we are first concerned with what the administrator could do.

 

See also insight 1 on the why page:

 

The moment we apply a solution to a system for solving a problem, the system will respond to our intervention. This interaction process between ourselves and the system is also part of the whole system. We therefore have to take ourselves into account as being part of the whole system we are looking at with systems thinking.

 

With Next Level Learning the administrator, the king of Troy, looks at the whole including himself as an outsider. By looking at the problems as an outsider the administrator will see that the only way to reach a solution is that more people are going to achieve Next Level learning and eventually everyone. The administrator also will see that it is impossible for people without Next Level Learning to understand what Next Level Learning really is and why they need it to solve complex problems. What the administrator can do, however, is asking others to do the exercises with the tool because he expects that they will come to better solutions to the problems they have in Troy as he can tell them. In this way others can easily join but they cannot be motivated by understanding what Next Level Learning is. If he gives the opportunity he presents to others value and importance, for example that the solutions people come up with after doing the exercises with the tool are actually going to be used, or that all the board members should also be able to see next level solutions and possibilities, etc then some of the people will start doing this. They will be people who are followers of the administrator, know the administrator well, are dependent, pursue for their own interest, want to get on the board etc. Even if only 1 percent of the population of Troy would do this then that is sufficient mass in absolute numbers to further grow the Next Level Learning population. Something is needed to bring these people in contact with each other in order to make this further grows possible. And opportunities are required so that people who have achieved Next Level Learning can work together from their own position and explore new solutions and create possibilities so that even more people will achieve Next Level Learning. But this is the transition scenario is what the next point 3 is about.

 

Whatever the complex problem is, the first step the administrator takes is to aim for as many other people as possible to achieve Next Level Learning. The more people in crucial and influential positions in society achieve Next Level Learning the more impact the administrator’s first step will have. Just imagine what would happen if a very famous star footballer achieved Next Level Learning and shared it with his fans. How many would then also start doing the exercises with the tool?

 

For solving complex problems that have to do with ourselves or our own environment we are of course the administrator ourselves. The principle is the same but it is then about what we are going to do ourselves (we are the administrator of ourselves). And even for the biggest problems in the world we can start from our own position just like an administrator but in a smaller environment. Because ultimately everyone who has achieved Next Level Learning wants all nearby people to also achieve Next Level Learning so that you have a shared perspective on problems and everything that occurs. And as described in the vision 2100+:

 

Everybody will be able to see everything from the perspective of the distant outsider. We will all gain a shared perspective. We will see shared possibilities and solutions. This will make us collaborate, feel connected and at peace with each other. Imagine what an incredible change this will be compared to the current situation in this world and how much power, energy, time we will gain that we can use to create a better world for everyone.

 

3) How is the transition going to happen?

 

As an outsider, what possible transitions do you see leading to a solution to the problem?

 

After you have done the exercises with the tool the first time, you will suddenly see a lot that you were not aware of before. But as soon as you start solving a complex problem or get in a state of tension, chances are you have lost a lot of the new clarity or awareness. Then you repeat the exercises with the tool again and you will see again what you had lost. This is a process that everyone goes through and that we have to see for ourselves so that we don't lose the clarity again and our awareness will finally become permanent consciousness. This process takes time and that is why the solution of a complex problem is always a transition that takes some time and in which people with Next Level Learning will come to new solutions and possibilities themselves. So the new forms emerge in the transition. It is like building the bridge while walking over it.

 

The principle of a transition is similar to the process you are going through in this Columbus project. By looking at complex problems together with fellow students it is easier to achieve Next Level Learning and to start looking automatically at a problem, another person, the circumstances and yourself as an outsider. The more people are engaged together in Next Level Learning as in this Columbus project the faster this transition process will go. You will also notice that when you are working in a group to solve a problem you can look beyond your own blindness and preferred behaviour because the others in your group may have other blindness’s and preferred behaviours. Working together in a group with Next Level Learning not only enables you to see more but also to see new possibilities and solutions more quickly. To speed up this transition process even more, or rather to give it a boost, the programme 'Mastery in transition' has been developed that you also go through in the Columbus project.

 

Once you start working with a group on a complex problem you want to solve, you may come up with revolutionary new form solutions or new inventions. You can include these as possible transitions in your solution. As students you remain the owner of your ideas and you can do anything with these idea’s outside the Columbus project.

 

See also insight 2 on the why page:

 

The moment a solution is applied to a system that is produced from the perspective of systems thinking the people involved will not be able to see the solution without the use of systems thinking. They will only see the solutions from their own perspectives which will potentially be in conflict with the solution from the perspective of the whole. When everybody sees everything from the perspective of the whole including ourselves we all will gain a shared perspective. We will see shared possibilities and solutions.

The form solutions to neutralize the primary drivers like climate change for solving the problem of Troy are in fact very basic. And as de conflicts, fighting and secondary drivers will disappear a great many people and resources become available:

 

There were secondary drivers, the most important being famine, economic stagnation, poverty and refugee flows. This applies to the greater area around the Mediterranean from Egypt to Greece, which was the prosperous world of the Bronze Age at the time.

 

Looking closer the secondary drivers appear to be a result of the fighting. The bronze age economy was brought to a halt because sea transports were attacked by "refugees". Local economies also stalled due to robberies and looting. Friendly nations and peoples could no longer help each other because they were no longer in contact and could no longer come to each other’s aid. Transport of food was not possible due to the robberies, nor was the use of fertile land for all peoples.​

4) What is the effect on the world?

 

As an outsider, what effect on the world do you see when the transition to the solution you envision is complete?

 

Once we look continuously as an outsider complex problems will no longer arise, because we have defused their cause, the tension delusion or tension state. We have seen through that in a tension state we are trapped in our tension delusion. Therefore we will not live anymore the tension interpretations and get into conflict with the actual reality but switch to the observation mode, or in other words we will look at it as an outsider until we clearly see through what is happening within ourselves. The book 'Consciousness upgrade for transition in the 21st century' gives a lot of extra information and guidelines for this for those who want to accelerate this process in themselves. You will also start to see that the more people around you having achieved Next Level Learning the easier and faster it goes for those around you starting with Next Level Learning. Parents who have achieved Next Level Learning will automatically pass it on to their children (if they are still very young). Those children will never have to do the exercises with the tool. Those children may never be able to imagine what it is to live in a tension delusion just as people at the beginning of this 21st century cannot imagine what it is to live without tension delusions. And in fact, people are not even aware of the tension delusions because otherwise they would not be there!

 

See also insight 4 on the why page:

 

Solving a dynamic problem is a dynamic process in which the system is changing continuously. Therefore everyone involved in a complex problem has to see the ever-changing problem and system from the perspective of the whole continuously too. Systems thinking is not a method that you can apply at a certain moment but a way to continuously look at the whole system, a way of learning. By learning to look like a kind of outsider we automatically look at problems, systems and ourselves from the perspective of the whole and this will transform everything. With this insight, systems thinking becomes a form of transformative learning with the help of which we see everything from the perspective of the whole, including ourselves, in a dynamic way.

 

And once everyone looks at the world as an outsider with Next Level Learning and see how we have organised our lives a lot will change. This is now for most of us still unimaginable. The world will transform just like us.

 

A simple example of what would be possible in today's world just like in the Troy problem: if there is no more fighting and no one lives their tension interpretations anymore then all efforts for defence and war can be stopped. That leaves us with a few thousand billion euros a year to enable a good life for everyone.

 

You can start looking at what the effect of Next Level Learning will be in many areas, such as education, work, governance, university, economy, society. You can also look at what will change in scientific fields, what new insights will break through in psychology, physics, medicine, philosophy, etc.

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